Karen&Rene

Lol, Mocha, that's what I've been doing too... I'm refreshing this thread every half hour or so.  The anticipation is killing me! 

Lisa, thanks for the info; I'll ask them to create a new listing for me. 

I'm so excited to see your dress, Lisa!  If it turned out well, I'll be placing my order ASAP.  I'll probably order it in ivory, not the champagne-ish color that is in the photo I posted.  Because I'm ordering a completely custom dress (i.e. not based off of any dress they currently sell) they told me just to purchase a different dress that is the same price and put "payment for dress mentioned in email" in the remarks.  This seems strange to me... I just want to make sure they don't send me the dress in the listing, totally not my style, lol.  Did anyone else have this experience?  I also wonder if they told me they would send photos because they were trying to make the sale... let me know what they tell you ladies.  

Hi ladies,

I am so glad I found this thread!  I actually purchased a dress locally for $800 in March, only to be told 6 months before the wedding that they "no longer feel comfortable" completing the order because they've had some issues with the designer.  So... time to start the search again!  I found a dress I absolutely loved, but it was over $3,500!  I am considering having it made by Monica Bridal or Duosheng.

Right now Monica Bridal quoted me $135 which is AMAZING, but I'm a little nervous about it since I've only found two examples of finished dresses.  I figure worst case scenario, I could just use it for my TTD.  Also, as an FYI to girls who have recently ordered their dresses from Monica Bridal, I asked them if they would send me photos of the finished dress before they shipped it so that I could communicate any necessary changes, and they said they could do it.  Still haven't heard back from Duosheng, but here are photos of the original dress I want.  I love the rose detail; do you think Monica Bridal will be able to replicate it?  I don't want to end up with a separate flower that's just glued on to the dress, lol.

Ok, so I promised Kelley I wouldn't pester her with emails until after her high wedding season was over (not until June), so I was hoping you ladies could help me out. My FI has an aunt with rheumatoid arthritis, and uses a wheel chair almost all the time. I remember reading about the "all terrain wheelchair" that Las Caletas has on hand... but does this mean that they will never have walk to get anywhere? What about the boat... is that wheel chair accessible? Thanks!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to introduce myself... My name is Karen and I have officially booked Las Caletas for April 2nd, 2011!!! I am incredibly indecisive (I'm one of those people who spend 15 minutes at the store comparing different fabric softeners), but when I happened upon Las Caletas when searching online for Puerto Vallarta venues, I was sold immediately! I've read the entire old Las Caletas thread... thanks for all the info ladies! So far, we've decided on our photographer (Michele Turner), ordered our save the dates (from Vistaprint), and even bought my dress (would post a link but my FI is dying to find out what it looks like and I wouldn't be surprised if he looked up my posts for clues, lol)! Can't wait to see some new pics from the recent weddings!!!

Hi ladies,

I bought a similar frame from Michael's. It's called a floating shadow box (didn't see it on their website, but they have it in stores). The only catch is that there are only two panes of glass, so you have to buy two frames and add a third pane of glass into the first frame. The panes are adjustable so there's actually an additional slot to put in the extra pane of glass from the second frame. The best part was that they were on clearance for $7.99 each!

We're paying about $4,500 for 8 hours of coverage, a TTD session (no time or location limit), and a disc of all the photos. It was more than I had budgeted for, but my FI had his heart set on this particular photographer. I figure if he wants to put us over budget, it's fine by me since he's paying for it, lol.

I did a boudoir shoot with Harper and Steve at Serenity Photography and couldn't recommend them highly enough! I felt surprisingly comfortable with them and it turned out to be a lot of fun... they made me feel like a real model, lol. Contact me for details or to see pics. I actually did these as a birthday gift to my FI (then boyfriend), and he LOVED them! I'm considering going back to do a more in-depth shoot for his wedding gift.

Serenity Photography - Upscale Boudoir Photos

You may want to check out the hall at the Holiday Inn, Merchandise Mart, it has floor to ceiling windows and an amazing view of downtown. I looked into it for my reception (a sit down dinner) and it was surprisingly affordable for a downtown location, so for a more casual reception it would be even cheaper. Or we looked into the Tasting Room which also has a great view. The prices they quoted us were a little expensive, but they seemed willing to work with us to make it affordable. Or if you're set on renting out a house, check out VRBO (example house listed below). Good luck!!!

Chicago, Illinois vacation rental by owner: 4 bedroom House rental that sleeps 22. 7BR-New Mansion

My FI works for a small company too, but he's only inviting the people he considers friends. His coworkers like to travel and have the $$$, so he's pretty sure they would ALL come if they were invited. We need to keep our wedding small due to reception logistics, so that's why he decided to limit the number of coworkers he invited. If the # of guests you can have is not limited, and there's no coworkers that you particularly dislike, it probably wouldn't hurt to invite everyone.

I was a bridesmaid in a DW, and she asked me well before the invitations went out. However, I did tell her right after she made the decision to have a DW that I would be coming. I don't think it would hurt to casually ask your potential bridesmaids if they would be able to attend. Some may know for sure that they're going to find a way to make it, and others may know immediately that they're not going to be able to afford it. But I also agree that you should probably just ask the people closest to you... even if they can't make it to the wedding itself, maybe they would still want to take on the role of bridesmaid in helping to plan all of the events that take place at home (e.g. bridal shower, bachelorette party, etc.) and at least they would know that you thought of them!

I was dreading telling my dad about our decision to get married in Puerto Vallarta since most of his side of the family would not be able to afford it. Even after he offered to pay all the expenses for my grandma to go, she still refused! (And without even giving a reason except that "there are 48 states she can choose from to have a wedding.") While it sucks that a lot of people aren't going to be able to make it, no one has the right to say that having a DW is "selfish." I've never heard that eloping is selfish, and that includes even fewer people in your wedding! It's your day, and everyone else can deal with it. My cousin just had a DW in Cancun, and all my family that attended her wedding is really excited for ours! Trust me, once they see first-hand how beautiful, laid-back, fun, and intimate a DW really is, they'll take back anything bad they've ever said. In our situation, we decided to subsidize the trips for select people on my dad's side of the family (with the $$ we're getting as a wedding present from my dad), and we're not registering for gifts to try to cut back the expenses for our guests.

Another 2011 bride here! We recently booked Las Caletas for April 2nd, 2011! Still deciding on a photographer... my FI loves Michelle Turner's work, but we're also thinking about possibly Elizabeth Lloyd (local), or bringing a local photographer from Chicago.

About 10 months... had our first date on April 24th, 2009, and got engaged February 13th, 2011. But I knew the day we met that he was "it" for me! My sister texted me on our first date to ask how it was going, and I replied with "I'm going to marry this guy!" Lol.

Hey everyone,

Newbie here from Chicago! My FI Rene and I are getting married in Puerto Vallarta on April 2, 2011. Just put down our deposit this week and we're so excited! I think I've spent over 20 hours on here soaking in all the info on hotels, venues, restaurants, etc. and I am officially addicted...

-Karen